One FIR, Government blacklists 7 firms, hits artillery upgrade

Having already taken a knocking with the controversies involving Bofors and Denel, India’s artillery modernisation programme hit another roadblock when the Ministry of Defence, taking note of bribery allegations in a fresh case, blacklisted seven firms, including gun manufacturer Singapore Technologies (ST) and munitions giant Israeli Military Industries (IMI) until further notice.

With all dealings with the two firms put on hold, defence contracts worth over Rs 6,000 crore — all involving artillery guns and ammunition for the Army — are now in deep freeze.

Confirming a report in The Indian Express, the Ministry of Defence said “all acquisition cases in the pipeline” with seven firms have been “put on hold” after their names figured in a CBI probe into corruption charges against former Director General of Ordnance Factory Board Sudipta Ghosh.

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Samajwadi Party deals Kalam trump card

To give its political decision of supporting the UPA the stamp of “national-interest” legitimacy, the Samajwadi Party today armed itself with a ringing endorsement of the Indo-US nuclear deal from former President A P J Abdul Kalam.

The SP’s Kalam announcement came hours after it got its allies in the UNPA to climb down from their strident opposition to the deal to saying they were ready for a “national debate.”

While these allies — TDP, INLD, AGP and the Jharkhand Vikas Party — stay opposed to the deal, they watched in awkward silence as SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav said: “I can assure you that the UNPA will not take any step that will go against the national interest. The UNPA will also not do anything that will strengthen the communal forces (BJP) in the country.”

All the UNPA members, except the SP, have been associated with the NDA and all supported Kalam for a second term as President as well.

When Kalam had approved the deal, the BJP had distanced itself calling it his “personal opinion.”

“We had gone to seek the advice of former President Abdul Kalam, who is also a respected scientist, on the clarifications to our apprehensions provided by the PMO yesterday,” said Mulayam after his meeting with Kalam.

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